Roy Ackland

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Roy Ackland was born in London, England, and came to WGHP in 1987 from Huntsville, Alabama. He is “Roy” of Roy’s Folks, a popular FOX8 News feature that since 1988 has introduced his audience to some of the most interesting people in the Piedmont and beyond.

The “Roy’s Folks” series on has won several Emmy Awards and Roy continues to look for ordinary people who do extraordinary things. Roy and producer David Weatherly have also been recognized by the “North Carolina Society of Historians” for their work capturing and preserving the state’s rich history.

Roy began his broadcasting career in 1958 in Waco, Texas, where he received his bachelor of arts degree in Radio-TV-Film from Baylor University. He also served four years in the U.S. Air Force. Roy has held a commercial pilot license and skippered a commercial fishing vessel in Alaska.

For Ibrahim Said, being a potter came naturally. He grew up with his father, a potter, in Egypt. “I love to work with clay,” he said. Said takes traditional shapes from his native Egypt and adds intricate carvings. “I can work like three weeks or four weeks on one piece.”

KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — He grew up in Kernersville, lived most of his adult life in Colorado, and now has retired back in Kernersville where he creates interesting things out of wood, including wooden trains.

HIGH POINT, N.C. — In the early days of NASCAR the drivers would drive their cars to Daytona. One of Roy’s Folks recalls watching his father win the race there in 1953. Bill Blair tells Roy Ackland the story of how they drove the race car from High Point, to the race and back.

MOUNT AIRY, N.C. — The “Thursday Night Jam” has been going on since the 1990s at the Earle Theater. Musicians from across the area get together and jam while the public watches and listens for free. It happens every Thursday evening from 7 to 9 p.m. “Each and every single week is different because each person brings different songs to the table,” Travis Frye said.

KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — John Ritchie has been juggling most of his life. In the 1980s, he met fellow juggler Ronnie Stack — and the pair created the Triad Juggling Club. They meet Saturdays in Kernersville. Now, they juggle just about everything.

LEVEL CROSS, N.C. — When it comes to NASCAR, he’s simply known as The King. Richard Petty has been around 77 years, been racing all over the world and been “messing with cars” for about 65 years. He’s collected a lot of things in those years. And now he’s giving FOX8’s Roy Ackland a personalized tour of his new museum. “If you want to learn about racing history, this is the place to do it,” Ackland says.

RANDLEMAN, N.C. — North Carolina is known the entire world over for its furniture. Long before it was mass produced in factories, local craftsmen took advantage of the area’s abundance of trees and shaped them into functional works of art. Roy Ackland says you can still find that kind of craftsmanship being done by some of Roy’s Folks. For more information, visit the Maynor Woodcraft Facebook page.

KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — Some of Roy’s Folks are horsing around with art. They take scraps of “this and that” and make American beauties including horse head scupltures. “If it fits and I like it, I’ll put it in there,” Dottie Pyrtle said. You can find their work under the name Summer Oaks Craftworks both on Weebly and Facebook.

RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C. — Everybody loves an old time country store. They are a trip back in time to the days when things were much less complicated. Every community had one at one time and thanks to some of Roy’s Folks, a Randolph County community still does.